A/N: Sorry you guys for the slow update. I meant to squeeze in this chapter right after publishing the previous one, but unfortunately I didn't make it in time, and it was a 3-day trip back to our house after a road trip that lasted way too long! So anyway, long story short, here's the new chapter. Where are all my in-depth reviewers? :( Though I'm grateful to every one of you who reviewed or showed interest in my story. Please keep reading! Slowly but surely, we're nearing the end!

Chapter 12

Craig Tucker went crashing against the wall, sending down a shower of plaster. Kenny McCormick staggered against the one opposite. A thin trickle of blood escaped his lips, and he hastily wiped it off with his right hand.

The two stared at each other, their eyes glinting with hate and anger.

"I thought no one was a match for me." Craig panted, standing up and spatting on the ground.

Kenny smiled.

"You're just attacking me. I'm fighting for my life".

With that, he threw himself at Craig once more, with the ferocity of a wild animal fighting to protect its freedom.

Craig hit his head hard against the wall and slid down into a heap on the floor.

In a daze, Craig suddenly realized.

Kenny was a wild animal. A wild animal whose survival instinct had finally and suddenly kicked in.

Craig had never acted that way in his life. He'd never felt there was anything worth protecting. He fought with intensity just for the sake of it, for the sake of proving a point. He wasn't doing it for protecting who he was.

But this boy… He had worked for eight years to reach this moment, and he wasn't going to let him take it away. He really was fighting for his life, and against his pure instinct of survival, there was nothing Craig could do.

No. No, that wasn't right. Craig was fighting to protect his life as well. Without his only friend, what would his life be? Nothing. One dreary monotonous day would be identical to the next.

Craig snarled, the sound coming from deep in his throat.

"I'm fighting for that too." he hissed, and he hurled himself against Kenny, Kenny McCormick, the real yet fake.

Real, fake… It was all relative.

And to him, this could never be considered the original, the real.

He was going to get the real one back, at any cost.

To save her... As well as himself.

He pushed Kenny to the hallway wall, and, with sudden strength and ferocity, pummeled him with his fists, again and again. At first the boy struggled, sometimes succeeding in hitting Craig back when he spotted an opening, but he was too quick for him. Slowly, Kenny's tense muscles relaxed and his struggles ceased. He slid down to the ground, slipping Craig's grasp.

His eyes were half closed, and he was breathing heavily. For a moment, Craig feared he'd gone too far. Kenny's face was covered in bruises, and blood trickled down his face.

Craig stepped back, suddenly filled with anxiety and fear. This was his only lead... What would he do if he'd hit his head too hard and didn't remember anything?

Why was he so stupid? He shouldn't have gone all out. Had he really destroyed his only chance of ever finding her with his own hands?

A slight moan tore him from his thoughts. He swung his head round to look at the boy. His breathing had gone shallow, and tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"Why?" Kenny whimpered, "Why won't you just leave me alone? Why won't you let me live my life in piece? Why do you have to ruin my life?". He looked up at Craig, his teary red eyes pleading yet angry at the same time.
"Why do you hate me so much?".

Craig was very suddenly taken aback, as all his anger was suddenly blown away and replaced by a sharp pang of remorse. He had never thought of himself as cruel. He had always known that what he was doing was right. But now, he saw it all in a different light. His own selfishness at wanting to steal someone's life for the sake of a friend. He bit his lip.

Real, fake, right, wrong... It was all relative.

Still, he couldn't give up. Not now. Not when he was so close.

"Just tell me," Craig said slowly, "Where did she go?".

Kenny's eyes lit up with hatred.

"I TOLD YOU!" he shrieked, his red eyes suddenly wide open, "I. DON'T. KNOW! I KEEP TELLING YOU! I KEEP SAYING I DON'T KNOW, AND YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME! DO YOU WANT ME TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU? I DON'T KNOW! WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?".

Craig took a step back. The sudden outburst had caught him off guard, and now he stood there, in awe.

"You refused to believe the girl I'm looking for existed. You never said...".

"Shut up!" Kenny screamed, putting his hands over his ears, "Shut up shut up shut up!".

"Just tell me where I could find her. That's all I want to know. Then I'll leave you alone." Craig said, as though he were trying to reason with a petulant child.

"Why? Am I not good enough for you? You want to get a replacement? Is that it? Is that all I am? Just something you can replace at any time with anything, even a girl?" Kenny yelled, tears streaming down from his eyes and streaking his cheeks.

"No." Craig muttered, "It's different. I just want to know where I could find her."

"It's not that I'm not good enough for you," Kenny sneered sarcastically, "It's just that you prefer someone else!".

Craig took a step forward and grabbed hold of the boy's shoulders.

"Dude. Kenny." he said slowly, "It's not about you".

The blonde opened his mouth angrily to say something, but Craig silenced him.

"Just listen to me!" he cried fiercely, "Why don't you listen to a single word I'm saying?".

Kenny's mouth immediately snapped shut, and Craig took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Listen to me. It's not about you. I'm not looking for her so I can replace you. To me, you are two completely different people".

Again, Kenny opened his mouth, but Craig shook his head to shush him.

"I need her." he said, quietly but firmly, "I need to find her. If you want, I'll stop calling her Kenny. You'll be Kenny from now on. We'll figure it out. But I need to find her. You need to tell me where she went.".

Craig lowered his head.

"Please." he murmured, "Please".

Kenny looked at Craig, his mouth hanging slightly open, his eyes still red and puffy.

"I- I don't know...". His voice trailed off.

"Don't you have any idea? Any at all?" Craig asked desperately.

Kenny looked away. He knew where he'd go if he were to ran away.

Nowhere.

They were alike, the two of them. They both had nowhere else to go.

There would be no point in leaving town. He'd crouch in some alley, hiding from those who would recognize him, too ashamed to reveal what he'd become.

That was probably what she was doing right now.

Finally, Kenny closed his eyes and nodded.

"Alright".

His voice was no louder than a whisper.